


Golden Wake

by YellowMagicalGirl



Series: Redemption is a Very Large Number of Steps [2]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Ae thinks this is one big torture attempt, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Claire Nuñez Doesn't Escape the Shadow Realm During the Eternal Night, Claire Nuñez thinks Jim Lake Jr is dead, Claire Nuñez uses Ae/Aer Pronouns, Gen, Lima Syndrome, Morgana | Pale Lady Redemption (Tales of Arcadia), No Character Death, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Claire Nuñez, Not Canon Compliant, Not Wizards Compliant (Tales of Arcadia), Nuñez family and Jim get mentioned, Romeo and Juliet References, Suicidal Claire Nuñez, Suicide Attempt, That being said Claire doesn't know that Morgana cares for aer, Waking up Restrained, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, chained to a wall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26759044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowMagicalGirl/pseuds/YellowMagicalGirl
Summary: Claire wakes up alone in a stone cell, a golden chain around aer ankle.Or, if you told Claire that ae’re witnessing an early step of Morgana’s redemption, ae wouldn’t believe you.
Relationships: Morgana | Pale Lady & Claire Nuñez
Series: Redemption is a Very Large Number of Steps [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662949
Comments: 7
Kudos: 10
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Golden Wake

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who decided to try to do Whumptober for the first time? This was written for Day One: LET’S HANG OUT SOMETIME, specifically the waking up restrained prompt.

Slowly, Claire came to aer senses. There was a strange feeling of pressure around aer ankle, but ae no longer felt like ae was being eaten alive. Maybe ae had slept in the wrong position? Ae no longer felt aer armor. Ae was so sure ae had fallen asleep in aer armor. After all, if ae didn't wear aer armor then Morgana could kill aer.

Then again, during the Eternal Night Morgana had killed Jim, and he had been a troll wearing armor.

Claire squeezed aer eyes to avoid crying, even though ae probably wouldn't cry. Aer throat felt so dry; when was the last time ae had drank water? The last thing ae remembered eating was a couple granola bars that must have been expired.

Or poisoned. Claire breathed in sharply. Ae remembered her nightmare of Morgana coming for aer, and ae had been unable to fight back. Ae shuddered at the memory of clawed fingers against aer jugular.

"It was just a nightmare," Claire whispered to aerself. It was a mantra ae had been telling herself every time ae woke up from dreams of aer own face with golden eyes. "It was just a nightmare."

Claire opened aer eyes. Ae was in a shadowy cell. Ae looked around, trying not to hyperventilate. The cell was rather large and made of stone. There was a chain around aer ankle. It glowed gold. The same gold ae saw in every nightmare. The same gold that had taken _everything_ from aer.

No. No no no. This couldn't be happening. This had to be just a nightmare and ae would wake up soon, in aer own barricaded room. Or perhaps ae had been alone for so long that ae was hallucinating.

Or, better yet, perhaps ae would wake up in aer bed and aer parents and brother would be in rooms across the hall, and when ae reached for aer phone Jim would answer because he would be _alive._ Aer biggest issue wouldn't be trying to survive in a shadowy world of nightmares and enslavement; it would be keeping NotEnrique from eating aer socks and figuring out how to tell aer loved ones that ae was nonbinary.

Claire shook aer head. No, that was impossible. Ae had tried to wake aerself up too many times that ae knew that aer waking world was a never-ending nightmare.

Well, there was one thing that could end it, but ae hadn't been that desperate. But now, ae wasn't so sure. Morgana had captured aer, and it was only a matter of time until she tried to make aer her slave once more. Ae had seen her summon magical daggers. Oh, happy daggers. If Claire could copy the spell, then ae would have a weapon to defend aerself with, and possibly even use to cut away the chains. Or, ae would have an unideal escape route. Hopefully Morgana wouldn't be able to resurrect Claire, or even just use aer corpse for nefarious purposes.

Claire stuck aer hands out and concentrated. Ae had been experimenting with spells in the past... oh, how long had it been since Claire had tackled Morgana into the Shadow Realm?

Ae wasn't able to create anything. Not a ball of light, and not a dagger. Ae frowned and tugged at the chain. Ae couldn't figure out how it was connected to the wall of aer cell, much less how to detach it.

A hole opened in the wall. Claire tried to stand, but ae was too weak. Morgana floated through the hole. She wore a strange expression - if Claire thought Morgana was capable of it, ae would've said she looked concerned - that turned into a smirk as she saw Claire kneeling. Claire once more pushed aerself to aer feet, using the wall as a guide. Aer other hand curled into a fist.

"Good. You're finally awake." Morgana was carrying a bowl. Steam rose from it. It smelled like chicken broth. It smelled _wrong,_ but that could just be because it didn't smell like Jim's, aer parents', aer abuelita's, or even just canned chicken soup. Claire hoped that the growling of aer stomach wasn't audible. Besides, it was probably poison. Morgana wouldn't feed Claire, not without some way of finding a sort of twisted glee in Claire's pain.

"Why didn't you just kill me in my sleep?" Claire growled. Or at least, ae tried to. Aer voice was so sore and scratchy that it sounded pitiful.

"Because you're more useful to me alive. After all, I already put so much work into honing your magic. In fact, you have the privilege of getting to be my apprentice."

"Like _hell_ I will, you _witch._ You’ll have to kill me first."

Morgana didn't react to Claire's insult, and instead sent the bowl floating towards Claire. Claire felt aerself salivate at the smell. Ae grabbed the bowl. It felt warm. Warm enough that if it spilled it could be painful. Ae began to draw aer arm back, but it was immobilized by golden light before ae could throw the bowl into Morgana's face. Morgana then used magic to manhandle Claire into a kneeling position, the bowl stable on the ground next to aer.

"If you haven't finished it by the time I come back, I will force feed you." Morgana turned around and left the cell; the hole closed behind her. Her magic faded from Claire until the only thing immobilizing aer was the chain around aer ankle.

Ae moved back into a sitting position and glared at the broth. It was poison. It had to be poison. Morgana probably had some sort of magical hidden cameras so she could get the satisfaction of watching Claire drink poison.

But there was a chance that this poison would also be a way to permanently escape the Shadow Realm. Well, for Claire's soul to escape it. Aer friends and family would never find aer body.

Claire brought the bowl to aer lips and began to swallow the warm liquid inside. It tasted like chicken broth, though it was extremely bland.

What felt like hours passed. Ae felt dirty with the realization that it wasn't poison. No, Claire had accepted a favor from Morgana le Fay, and ae didn't know what ae had given up in exchange.


End file.
